Elan running $1bn loss
pharmafile | October 21, 2003 | News story | |Â Â Â
Elan reported a net loss of $1 billion for the third quarter, following charges of $943 million.
A significant portion of the charges relates to a write down of the company investments portfolio, while the remainder relate to the ongoing recovery plan.
Excluding the charges, net loss was $60.7 million, in line with analysts' expectations, which compares with net profit of $129 million for the same quarter last year.
The dramatic fall in profits is mirrored by a similar sharp drop in revenue down 30% to $340 million, mainly resulting from the introduction of generic competition to muscle relaxant Zanaflex.
The company, which has cash reserves of $633 million, is selling off various assets, such as pain management product Actiq and antifungal agent Abelcet, to tackle the $1 billion debt it must clear by the end of 2003.
Elan Chairman, Dr Garo Armen, remained upbeat about the company immediate future. "I am confident that we will reach our divestiture targets with greater realisations of cash and ahead of schedule", he said, "In addition, we remain focused on our very important research and development efforts, which are progressing according to plan."
The company is collaborating with Biogen on the development of multiple sclerosis and Crohn disease treatment Antegren. Patient enrolment for phase III trials is expected to be completed by the end of the year.






